Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

When there is tension within the Body of Christ, in the local church, it is usually because the wheat do not have anything in common with the tares. This has nothing to do with doctrine, but with the fact that there are very two different spirits abiding within the church: that of the Pharisee's (the tares), and that of Jesus (the wheat). When we are called to "love everyone," that does not mean that we are to set up camp with some of them! Jesus did not hang with the Pharisees when He walked this earth.  Jesus' love was not the mushy, gushy sort of love that we can confuse with real love. Jesus actually said that there was more hope for the whores and tax collectors than the religious leaders when it came to salvation! Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you."  Matthew 21:31 Not exactly a way to win friends and influence people. So don't even bother trying to "win" ...

Sometimes, driving down the accustomed road isn't possible.  Sometimes, we need to take a detour. I've decided to start reading the Word out loud every day.  Not sure why I haven't made a practice of this before.  What led me to this "detour" was when I recently looked up the original Hebrew word for meditate from Joshua 1:8.  I was stunned to learn that the original word for meditate actually means to growl, moan, utter, even howl!   Crazy right?! I mean when I envision meditating on God's Word, it is usually in thought, in quiet.  But that usually gets interrupted by other thoughts!   But if I read Scripture out loud - take a detour, an unexpected route from how I usually meditate - I just may end up getting where I want to go after all.  Where I want to "go" is into God's Presence.  I also want His blessings, the success that He promises to His chosen in Joshua 1:8 if they do not let His words depart from their lips. It is not a ...

Are you too hard on yourself?  I know I am. I can demand more from myself than God does! God never, no never, demands perfection from us.  How could He when He knows that we could never reach it? That verse, "Be ye perfect as I am perfect" has been so grossly mistranslated and misinterpreted that it has led many into a tizzy or worse!  Perhaps it might have even caused some to give up on their faith altogether. After all, why bother with an unattainable goal? However! The Greek translation of perfect in this verse is mature.  Be mature.  In other words, grow up! That is something we can work on, pursue, and do by God's grace. But during this maturing process, we will fail.  A lot.  Maybe even more than we succeed. And you know what?  That's okay.  Really. Old habits surface bringing out the worst in us.  Our flesh takes over instead of us allowing the Spirit to control us.  We just can't seem to get it together at times.  And t...

I was wondering the other day…When the disciples learned that Jesus was going to be unjustly crucified, did they pray against it?  Did the disciples pray that Jesus would not be crucified?  Did they think that it could not possibly be the will of God because in their limited thinking, all they saw was that they were losing their Rabbi, their Master, their Friend - the Messiah. Why would God want their Messiah to be crucified?  That didn't make sense.  Even though Jesus told them over and over about His mission, His purpose - that He was to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, that He would die but be raised up again in three days - they still didn’t seem to fully accept or understand it. The disciples were privy to these glorious truths, told to them directly by Jesus Himself. Nonetheless, when Jesus actually fulfilled the Scriptures’ prophecy by His death, the disciples were heartbroken.  They were confused.  Perhaps they thought in terms of "good" and...

Jesus posed this question to Andrew and his brother Simon (Peter) when they first met Him.  I believe Jesus asks the same of us today. Jesus wants us to know where our hearts are.  Some sought Him out of curiosity.  Some sought Him for healing.   But Jesus wants us to seek Him so that we will follow Him.  Stay with Him no matter what.  This is what separated the disciples from the rest of the crowd.   Following Jesus is not about a list of rules or obligations to follow.  Jesus never said, "Follow the rules."  Jesus said, "Follow Me." What's the difference?   Focus. Are we looking at what we can do - looking at the rules and trying our best to keep them?  Or are we looking at Him, seeking His Presence, to be close to Him in fellowship, acknowledging our need of Him? Jesus leads us along the straight and narrow path.  Not many are on that path.  Jesus told us that the other way is a broad path, the one that m...

Luke 8:26-38 I’ve read this passage before, but I saw something new in it when I read it recently.  Please click on the link above to read the story in its entirety. Jesus had performed a miracle. The result was that a man was set free from demons which had ruined his life. So why, then, were people afraid of Jesus after witnessing this miraculous event? Shouldn’t they have wanted to know Him and follow and believe in Him? Were they hiding demons of their own? Why wouldn’t they want a miracle from Jesus? Maybe they were keeping their demons around because they were profiting from them. The demons that Jesus rid the man of had destroyed his life and tortured him in many ways. But did you know that some demons “help” some to achieve wealth and fame? So although they are still demons out to ultimately destroy anyone who lets them in, there are those demons which masquerade as angels of light “promising” wealth and notoriety, if only temporarily. Perhaps those types of people were the ...

God promises to make all things new in time.  This promise is for the New Heaven and New Earth.  But it is also for here and now, when we need Him to do what only He can do for us.   He renews us.  He makes things new happen within us and around us at His will.  What a God we know and love and serve! Enjoy my latest song, "All Things New," based on Isaiah 43:19 and Revelation 21:5.